OXEIA BIOPHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM MEMBERS AND RELOCATES CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS TO BOSTON

BOSTON, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biotech company conducting Phase 2 clinical trials of OXE103 for treating concussion, today announced two new board members and additions to its executive leadership team. The company also announced its corporate headquarters' move from San Diego to Boston.

Joining the Board is Ted Raad, CEO and Board Director at the Massachusetts-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, Pulmatrix. Pulmatrix is developing innovative inhaled therapies to treat serious pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases. According to Mr. Raad, "Oxeia's OXE103 shows tremendous potential for helping the millions of people suffering from ongoing concussion symptoms. Concussion R&D continues to be an overlooked medical need despite the growing awareness of a concussion's potential long-term and often debilitating symptoms."

Also joining the Board is former NFL quarterback Alex Smith who recently concluded a 16-year career playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington football teams.  During his first season with Washington, after suffering a severely broken leg, he gained worldwide respect as he battled a life threatening post-operative infection, eventually returning to the field. "As a former NFL player, I've seen teammates and opponents suffer from concussions, as I have myself," said Mr. Smith. Despite safety protocols, concussions will never be eliminated completely.  We need medical treatments such as Oxeia's to lessen the symptoms and treat the underlying damage." 

According to Oxeia CEO, Dr. Michael Wyand, "Ted Raad has extensive experience building and leading specialty healthcare service and pharmaceutical companies. His life science leadership experience will be invaluable to Oxeia as we conduct our clinical trials and prepare for the next stages of our growth. Alex Smith's experience with mild traumatic brain injuries has inspired him to help those suffering from concussions. Alex will not only provide key insights about our patient population, but will also help us continue to focus attention on the need for and investment in effective therapies." 

Additions to Leadership Team

Oxeia also announced two new members of its leadership team. Julianne Averill joins the company as Chief Financial Officer and Lindsey McClelland has been promoted to Vice President of Operations. Both will report directly to Oxeia's CEO, Dr. Michael Wyand.

Ms. Averill is a financial expert with nearly 20 years of leadership experience in the life sciences and digital health fields. She will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and be responsible for overseeing finance, accounting, and investor relations. Ms. Averill joins Oxeia from Danforth Advisors, where she is a consulting senior director, providing operational, financial, and strategic services to biotechnology and health-tech clients. Prior to Danforth, she worked in various positions at public and private high-growth organizations leveraging technology to transform industries, including serving as CFO for Alveo Technologies, a medtech company transforming the consumer health tech market by providing at-home testing for infectious diseases and Vice President, Finance, & Executive Committee Member for BlackThorn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering personalized medicine for mental health. Additionally, Julianne spent a significant portion of her career in public accounting as an audit manager for Deloitte in its life sciences and retail practices.

According to Dr. Wyand, "We are excited to welcome Julianne Averill to the executive leadership team. She brings critically important skills to Oxeia as we proceed with our clinical trials for our concussion therapy and prepare for our next stages of growth."

Oxeia's newly named Vice President of Operations, Lindsey McClelland, previously held the position of Director Program Management at Oxeia and earlier held the same position with OneBiopharma, Inc. Ms. McClelland has nearly 10 years industry experience and previously held administrative roles at EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. In her new role she will be responsible for strategic oversight of the program management and operational functions at Oxeia.

Commenting on Oxeia's newly named Vice President of Operations, Dr. Wyand said, "In her former position as Director of Program Management, Lindsey McClelland has proven herself to be an invaluable member of Oxeia's team. She has been instrumental in strategic planning, program management and clinical trial functions. Her proven leadership skills will continue to strengthen our company." 

Company Relocates to Boston, MA

Oxeia also announced the recent relocation of its corporate headquarters from San Diego where it was founded to Boston. Commenting on the move, Dr. Wyand said, "We believe it makes good corporate sense to be based in Boston, the location of the largest bio-cluster in the world. As we grow, we will need increased access to capital, talent, academia and partners. Boston offers all of that and more. San Diego is a wonderful life sciences community, and a key part of our scientific and medical team will remain there."

About Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals

Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals is a privately held clinical stage biotech company developing drug treatments for concussion and underlying neuro-metabolic dysfunction. Phase 2 trials are being conducted for Oxeia's concussion drug, OXE103, at University of Kansas Medical Center. For more information, please visit: http://www.oxeiabiopharma.com/ and ClinicalTrials.gov

About OXE103

OXE103 is synthetic human ghrelin, an endogenous hormone. OXE103 freely crosses the blood-brain barrier and is now being tested in humans to potentially treat concussions by addressing underlying neuro-metabolic dysfunction and axonal injury. OXE103 uniquely targets the hippocampus region of the brain, an area important for cognition and memory. 

SOURCE Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals Inc.